Shaping the future of international education

CIS Global Forum 2025 event icon 750px

CIS Global Forum ON INTERNATIONAL ADMISSION & GUIDANCE

Date: 13– 14 November 2025
Location: Fibes, Conference and Exhibition Centre, Seville, Spain

 

Unlocking post-secondary pathways to success: 
Connecting minds, shaping future.

 

Photos from the 2025 CIS Global Forum

 

We’re delighted to invite you to our 2025 CIS Global Forum in the vibrant city of Seville in southern Spain.

Now in its 18th year, this highly anticipated and popular annual event brings together about 900 participants from our unique and diverse cross-sector, global membership community of schools and universities. Join us to connect, share, collaborate, and learn about university admissions systems and trends worldwide.

It’s an energizing networking and learning event designed for university admissions professionals and international schools worldwide. These dedicated professionals share the goal of supporting secondary-to-higher education student aspirations globally while enhancing their own knowledge and mastering essential skills for daily success.

The CIS Global Forum provides a unique opportunity to explore various ways to guide international school students at this pivotal stage in their young lives.

 

Learn from your peers about:

  • University admission systems worldwide
  • Global trends impacting post-secondary student research, choices, and transitions across borders and cultures
  • Effective practices used by your peers to support students in the application process
  • Skills to master your daily work

 

School counsellors can take the opportunity to:

  • Promote your school and students to a broad audience of about 400 admissions representatives from our member universities
  • Strengthen your connections and school’s visibility with universities worldwide as part of your work to support students researching international post-secondary pathways

 

University representatives can take the opportunity to:

Enjoy direct access to around 300 international school counsellors and future pathways advisors from CIS schools as you promote your institution and seek to expand your campus diversity with high-performing students from around the world looking for international higher education opportunities.

 

Our 2025 themes:

Thanks to the many excellent session proposals we received, we will have a full programme around this year’s Forum themes:

  • Building blocks for professional knowledge
  • Regional & curriculum updates
  • Cultivating adaptability & action

 

Who is the CIS Global Forum for?

We welcome university guidance counsellors and future pathways advisors at CIS schools, and recruitment, admissions, and student services professionals at CIS colleges and universities.

Check if your school or university is a CIS member in our membership directory or learn about CIS membership for schools and universities.

The content of this event is aligned with the CIS International Accreditation framework which is recognized by ministries, departments of education, and universities worldwide as a demonstration of a school’s commitment to high-quality international education and as a mark of quality assurance.

 

Keynote Speaker

Dirk Van Damme

HEadshot of Dirk van damme

Dirk Van Damme (PhD, Ghent University, Belgium) was Senior Counsellor in the Directorate for Education and Skills at the OECD in Paris, and Head of the OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation.

Before joining the OECD in 2008, he was professor of educational research (Ghent University, Belgium) and comparative education (Free University of Brussels, Belgium; Seton Hall University, NJ, USA), counsellor for several Flemish education ministers (1992-2000), General Director of the Flemish Rectors’ Conference VLIR (2000-2003), and chief of staff of Flemish education minister Frank Vandenbroucke (2004-2008). He published extensively on education policy and evaluation and was a board member and expert to various quality assurance agencies and international organisations. 

His personal interests are the science of learning, comparative analyses of educational systems, lifelong learning, governance in education, and the use of research in education policy and practice. He is now an independent consultant, as well as Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Curriculum Redesign in Boston, MA, USA, and board member of the National Growth Fund  in the Netherlands.

2025 Participants

Last updated: 7 November 2025

 
 

 

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Excellence in our community

Each year, it’s our great pleasure to take a moment to recognise, honour, and celebrate the excellent work taking place across our international higher education admission and guidance community in these three areas:

  • Excellence in Change & Innovation
  • Excellence in Counselling
  • Excellence in Higher Education Practices

It's a great highlight of our annual Global Forum when we announce the recipients!

Nominate now individuals and groups at CIS schools and universities who demonstrate excellence in higher education admission and guidance in their service and support to you, your students, your institution, and ultimately, our global community.